When her teleporter delivered Jade to the top of the hill, Jade had to resist the urge to make him take her right back to Midnight Moon. She stood in front of the castle, craning her neck to take it all in. She couldn't even see the tip of the towers – they were shrouded in clouds.
The last time she'd been this close the castle, she'd met Aaron. But even then, she had been at the other side, near the edge of the cliff. And back then there had been no way she'd ever go inside, except perhaps to get sentenced and executed. And now she was supposed to walk through those doors like it was nothing.
Her hand reached up to her neck, but she stopped herself just in time. She wasn't sure why she stopped herself. Well, she did. It was because of Aaron and his overt disapproval. She just hated that she let his opinion get to her. What did he know? He didn't understand what she had to deal with. Especially right then. If she'd thought Midnight Moon had a lot of minds, she had never been to the Royal Wolves. The buzzing in her head told her there were hundreds of wolves inside the building alone – not to speak of the thousands of people living and working around the hill.
"Are you ready, Ma'am?" the teleporter asked.
No, she wasn't ready. She wasn't ever going to be ready. She was going to throw up. Was it a crime to throw up in the royal castle? Or perhaps she'd faint instead. What a great first impression that would be.
"Yes," she said, and she even managed a smile. Her hand fluttered over the fabric of her gown. Aaron had sent a maid to Midnight Moon to bring her and stuff her into the exquisite dress. It was a gentle red and flowed all the way down to her ankles. It had long sleeves, which she was not used to at all. They restricted her movements. At the back, the top was strung together by laces, tied off so tightly she could hardly breathe. She was accustomed to dresses she could step into – simple, cheap ones that no one would lose any sleep over if she tore them while shifting. This was not that.
The maid – a stern woman – had insisted on helping her get dressed, which was another first. She had brought shoes as well. They were low, open shoes that would probably slip off her feet the moment she started to run. But then she wasn't supposed to run.
She'd told the maid she was a wolf and not a doll, but the woman had only looked at her. And so there she was, stuffed tightly into a dress that was too long and left too much room for a chest and backside she did not have. The woman had taken it in and shortened the hems, but she still felt like she might trip. Maybe it was because she rarely wore dresses longer than mid-thigh. Her legs liked having a full range of motion. Her hair was itching too, but she was afraid to touch it. The maid had stuck about a thousand pins in it. Granted: she had looked almost regal then, were it not for that trace of wildness permeating every fibre of her being, and that look of unfamiliarity that marked her as grossly out of place.
"Ma'am?"
She realised she was still standing motionless in front of the entrance.
"Right. Sorry." She wanted to scratch her head – she was pretty sure the woman had stuck a few pins into her brain – but she caught herself. Her feet started moving, and she trailed after the teleporter. He was chuckling at her in his head and predicted that if nothing else, she'd be a laughing stock. A spectacle the entire castle would gossip about for weeks to come.
She set her lips and worked on removing some layers of noise from her head. It was taking too long, and there were too many layers. Removing one of them was like removing one of the torturous hair pins – it wouldn't make a difference. Her hand wrapped around her necklace – Aaron be damned – and she released a quiet breath as the pain washed over her mind and stifled her magic.
There were two gatehouses. The first led her past the first octagon-shaped curtain walls. The teleporter talked to the guards, explicating her purpose, and they were allowed to continue. The second gatehouse led into the castle itself. She didn't get past that one as quickly. The guards' thoughts told her that they didn't usually search ladies, but in her case, they'd make an exception. They did, at least, have the decency to link a female guard to do the honours. It was humiliating, and it didn't help that there were plenty of people walking around to witness it.
That, too, she survived, and she even managed to keep herself from mind-controlling the guards, though she contemplated letting them throw themselves off the cliff. She doubted Aaron would appreciate that.
And just like that, she found herself inside the castle. As she passed the threshold, which was high enough for a giant to cross without bowing his head, the servants standing beside it bowed deeply. She felt her cheeks burn and had she trusted her voice, she might have told them to stop. She felt like an imposter dressing above her station. She was an imposter dressing above her station.
The entrance hall was bigger than she could have imagined. Her entire pack could have fitted in it – before they got massacred. Her pack now could fit into almost any room. The ceiling was so high she wondered how anyone had managed to build it. There were paintings hanging on the walls. She wanted to stop and look at them better, but the teleporter kept walking and so she kept following. Was one of the men depicted King Alder?
Everyone stared at her as she passed, their minds exploding in questions and judgments. The excitement of Prince Aaron having found his mate was lost in the shock and gossip-worthy fact that the lucky one was a Shadow Walker. They studied her as though they had expected her deviancy to be a physical attribute – maybe a frothing at the mouth or permanent claws.
At the other end of the hall, another set of doors opened and Aaron appeared. A bright grin spread across his face when he saw her and seeing him that happy to see her almost made the whole ordeal worth it.
He approached her and she felt frozen to the spot. She'd asked Austin to help her find books on etiquette, but she hadn't gotten very far. Was she supposed to walk to him too or did she have to wait for him to get to her? She cursed her brain for being too overtaxed to read. Her fingers held onto her necklace for dear life. There were too many people watching her dissolve into chaos. Too many minds commenting on her every move.
"Jade."
Her name spoken by him was like magic. Better than magic, because it didn't hurt. He halted in front of her and her mind skidded to a halt. Did she have to bow? She probably had to bow. Or curtsy. Women curtsied. Men bowed. That's how it was. Right?
"Your Highness." She stared at him, begging him for guidance. Dismay seeped into his gaze when she used his title, but for some reason that amused her. Besides, there was no chance she was going to address him informally, not in the castle. There had to be a rule against that.
"Do I have to curtsy?" she asked, whispering. There was an uncontrolled snickering in the minds of the servants and guards present, and she admonished herself. That was her fault for thinking they wouldn't be hanging onto her every word.
"Do not worry about etiquette. There is plenty of time to learn." He smiled and she forced her lips to copy the motion. She felt like a child – clumsy and stupid, unaware of social cues and even less aware of the rules.
His gaze darted around and Jade didn't have to look to know the entire hall cleared. The sheer authority behind that action made her a little weak in the knees.
"Thank you for coming," he said. "I know it cannot be easy."
She looked over her shoulder. The last of the servants trickled out the doors, which were then closed behind them. Only Aaron's security detail remained – six guards. Their faces were neutral but their thoughts were loud. They were aware of her every movement and they didn't just fear but expected her to make a move against the prince.
Ryleigh's words flashed through her head. If you're really a Shadow Walker, you'll kill that royal mate of yours. That was the view those guards had of her. That was the view everyone had of her.
"Jade." His hand found hers – the one that wasn't still wrapped around the chain like it was the only thing keeping her grounded, which it was. Instantly, her mind rushed into silence. A part of her was grateful, but she couldn't afford not to know what people were thinking. They all considered her the enemy and therefore they had to be hers.
"I don't know what I'm doing," she said.
Aaron shook his head and placed a tender hand against her face, tipping her head back. "You are doing really well. And you look gorgeous."
She did look gorgeous. She also looked like someone she didn't recognise. She pulled back, pressing her pendant tighter into her palm. It hurt like a feral rogue's bite and she blinked to keep tears from jumping into her eyes. She had to get out of there. Her gaze flicked back to the doors behind her. Would he let her go if she wanted to? He had to. She wasn't his prisoner. Or was she? Was this all an elaborate ruse to capture her and torture information out of her?
"There is no reason to panic." He moved to touch her again, but she drew back.
No reason? Did he not know how his people thought of her? Did he not know all Royal Wolves were pompous, self-righteous bastards? Did he not know the only reason they didn't want him to reject her on the spot was because they wanted to see her fumble and fail a bit longer?
Aaron turned to his guards. "Leave us."
"Your Highness –" one of them said, eyes straying to Jade.
"I said: Leave us."
The energy radiating off him was enough to make the strongest warrior tremble. The men bowed and briskly moved back towards the door from which they'd entered. They left the room and the doors were closed. And then they were alone.
She wished she had Parker's gift. She could disappear in the blink of an eye and no one would be able to stop her, let alone find her. She could poof herself to the other side of Andior.
"This needs to stop," Aaron said. He stepped forward and while Jade was still working out what he was aiming at, he forced her hand away from her necklace. She stared at him in stunned silence when he moved his hands to the back of her neck and unclasped the chain.
"No, you can't do that." She reached for it. "Give it back. It's not yours. Give it back." It was a good thing no one was in the room with them, because talking to the crown prince like that was surely prohibited.
He winced when he accidentally touched the front of the pendant. "How can you wear this? It is outrageous."
"We've been over this. Several times, in fact. I have to."
"It hurts you." He grabbed her right hand, forcing her palm upwards. The skin was red and throbbing.
"It'll be gone in an hour." She pulled loose. "You have to give it back." Why was she so short? She moved to steal it from his grasp, but he merely raised his arm and she couldn't reach it. The pendant dangled from his fingers, tempting her.
"You are not getting it back. It is harmful."
"It is the only thing that works. You have to give it back. It is my property."
He shook his head and let the chain slip into his pocket. "I cannot let you injure yourself. It is dangerous. And I most certainly cannot let you wear it at court."
There it was, the truth of it: he was ashamed of her.
"If you are so embarrassed of my ways, then you should not have asked me to come here. You do not get to steal my property. Give it back!" Her eyes flashed bright blue. Her wolf adored Aaron, but no one – no one – was taking their stuff and telling them what to do.
"Control yourself," Aaron said, frowning at her wolf shining through. "You cannot behave like that here."
"Behave like what? A werewolf?" What had she been thinking? She couldn't do this. Couldn't do any of this. "This was a mistake. I want to go home." Only home wasn't home anymore, and Midnight Moon was hardly a substitute. She flinched, trying to tune out the noise of the Royal Wolves walking about, but she couldn't. The whole castle was buzzing with the news of her arrival, and if she had to hear one more unfiltered opinion about her and her pack... Her hand shot to her neck, but found it crudely bare. "I need it back."
He just stood there, watching her like he had never laid eyes on anything quite like her before – and not in a good way. What had he imagined? That she would naturally fit in at court? That she had the skills required not to make a fool of herself?
"I am not giving it back. You need to learn to live without it. Silver is not the answer."
"Since when? You didn't seem so against silver when your father used it against my sister." The words were out before she knew it and she froze, and so did he. He stared at her, his lips parted, but no sound leaving his mouth.
Who was he, even? The thought struck her so hard she nearly cried. She had known him a week – that was it. She had no clue who he was. She had no clue what he liked or disliked, had no clue what kind of friends he had, how his family treated him, what he dreamt of. She had no clue, and neither did he. They were strangers. Complete and utter strangers.
"I had nothing to do with that," he said.
"But you didn't stop it." Her head pounded so hard she revisited the idea of throwing up. She should probably teach classes in how to get your mate to reject you fastest, because she was heading there at lightning speed.
She needed out, but that would be admitting defeat and she was still a Shadow Walker – no matter what Ryleigh told her. She was no coward.
"No," he said. "I did not. I am not in the habit of questioning my father's actions."
She bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood. It was only with the greatest show of self-restraint she managed to swallow the words burning on the tip of her tongue: Maybe you should.
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A/N: Next chapter will pick up where this one left off (it was getting too long), so stay tuned ;)
Thank you for reading!